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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. present — the time now
  4. tube — a container
  5. pitch — completely
  6. present — a gift
  7. wound — an injury
  8. court — of law
  9. field — for sport
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. court — of a king
  12. field — a subject
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. present — there
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. bark — to shout
  17. toast — bread
  18. wound — an injury
  19. toast — a drink to someone
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. field — farmland
  22. pitch — a sales talk
  23. tube — the underground
  24. toast — the most admired

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com